Speak No Evil Chapter Two
Second chapter of my Death Note Fanfic, Speak No Evil. I hope you like it.
2. A Victory
Light sat at the computer, rubbing his raw wrist. L wasn’t looking at him, hadn’t done so the entire morning, hadn’t even said a word to him until the rest of the Investigation Team arrived, and even then it was only when addressing them as a whole.
Every time Light glanced over at the detective, L would be eating cheesecake, or reading case notes, all the while completely ignoring Light’s presence. It was infuriating. Determined to get a reaction, Light reached out, intending to snatch the papers from between L’s fingers.
L flinched. Actually flinched.
That did it.
“Oh, for the love of God, will you just quit it, Ryuzaki? You’re acting like a child.”
L finally turned his head to stare at Light with those black-hole eyes. “I’m sorry, Light,” he said, the tiniest hint of bitterness in his voice. “I’m just a bit jumpy today. You see, I was attacked last night.”
Light narrowed his eyes. “I think you’ll find that you were the one who assaulted me, Ryuzaki,” he spat, brandishing his wrist.
“Is everything alright?” Matsuda asked, looking concerned.
“Yes, Matsuda, it’s fine.” L replied blandly, before going back to stirring his tea.
Back to ignoring Light.
“Ryuzaki, you are possibly the single most annoying human being I have ever met! Look at me. LOOK AT ME!”
Razing a curious eyebrow but still staring at the swirling sugarpaste in his cup, L smiled slightly. “A tad overdramatic, hmm, Light? Do you crave my attention? Perhaps you are indeed Kira. After all, Kira thrives on attention. He is like a stubborn child, throwing a tantrum until his mother gives him a biscuit. Although most children probably wouldn’t commit mass murder for a cookie…”
Enraged, Light ground his teeth together and clenched his fist so hard he left half-moon marks across his palms. He would not rise to L’s bait, not this time. Taking a few shuddering breaths, he managed to dispel the red haze that had swallowed his vision.
“I wish you wouldn’t accuse me of being Kira, Ryuzaki. I can assure you that I am not.”
“Words, Light, only words.”
“Really? And what are your claims of my guilt, if not words?”
“Truth.”
“How can you be so arrogant? Just because you happen to think something doesn’t make it truth.”
“Can the same not be said of you? You thought you might be Kira, and then you thought that you were not. Which one of those should I believe?”
Light let out a frustrated groan. “You should believe me when I say that I’m not Kira, because, guess what? I’M NOT KIRA!”
L paused, the teaspoon lightly tapping at his lips as he stared up at the ceiling. “You know, I have a hypothesis about that. Certainly, you are not acting as Kira right now - we know that a member of Yotsuba currently has that power. Perhaps, with the transfer of the ability to kill, memories are lost as well.”
Light could see the threads of a winning argument weaving around him. He quickly snatched at one before it faded away. “By that reasoning, anyone could have been Kira. Even - no, especially you, L.”
That got L to look at him. “Explain.”
“Well, think about it. You said yourself that you are a stubborn and childish individual, qualities you just attributed to Kira. You most certainly fit the intelligence profile, and your ideas of justice are skewed enough to engineer a way to frame me for it.”
L frowned. “How do you suppose that?”
“You were perfectly happy to let Lind L Taylor die. A convicted criminal, dying at the hands of Kira, in a special broadcast designed to find his location? You could have already picked me out because of my IQ and my father’s position in the Police Force. Kidnapping and false imprisonment don’t appear to be beneath you, either. Maybe you passed on your power to someone in Yotsuba when it seemed you couldn’t get me incarcerated for good.”
For a moment, L seemed unable to come up with a reply. Light sensed victory. “I only did what was necessary, Light. It’s not false imprisonment if my accusations turned out to be true. And Lind L Taylor was going to die anyway.”
“Everyone is going to die anyway, Ryuzaki. It doesn’t make murder any better.”
L fell silent, mouth open slightly as though expecting his brain to supply a comeback but being sorely disappointed.
A satisfied grin spread across Light’s face; he had won.
Their banters were like sparring matches, each circling the other, testing, landing glancing hits before darting away. This time, Light had dealt the killing blow.
L still said nothing, resorting to staring Light down with such intensity that Light had to feign interest in a document on the desk beside him to escape the detective’s gaze.
I beat you at your own game, L. Accept it.
-x-
By the end of the day, Light’s nerves were frazzled, his teeth on edge and the hair at the nape of his neck standing on end.
Having spent such a considerable effort getting L to pay attention to him, he had not considered quite how disconcerting it would be if the detective then did nothing but stare at him.
For the whole day.
The man hadn’t even paused to eat - whenever Watari or another member of the team brought him cake or another cup of heart-attack-sweet tea, he would pick it up slowly, without looking, never removing his eyes from Light.
It wouldn’t be so bad, Light reasoned, if he knew what L was trying to achieve with this.
As soon as the last member of the team had closed the door on his way out, Light turned on the detective.
“What the hell is your problem, Ryuzaki?”
The only response L gave was to begin chewing his thumbnail in that maddening way he often did. Light angrily stomped the short distance to L’s chair, slamming his hands down on the armrests and leaning right into the detective’s face.
“See how you like it,” he growled.
L’s eyes widened and he leaned back a little. Light leaned in further after him. He wasn’t going to lose this one.
It wasn’t until he saw deep red pooling at the corners of L’s mouth that he realised just how hard the detective was biting down on his thumb.
“Wh… Stop it, you’re hurting yourself!” His anger temporarily forgotten, Light snatched L’s hand away from his mouth. The bite marks were deep and bleeding quite badly. Light grabbed a napkin from the tray on the table and blotted the wound, the white paper quickly blooming red. Annoyed once more, Light snapped his head up to glare at L.
“What did you go and do something like that for?”
Light was still holding L’s injured hand, and those delicate fingers began to curl and dig into the younger man’s wrist. Light suddenly realised that the detective had gone even paler and his breathing was erratic, like he was afraid.
“Hey, why - mrmph!”
This time, it was definitely L who made the first move. He launched himself at Light, grabbing his shirt collar and pulling him into a desperate, crushing kiss.
Taken aback by the force of it, Light staggered backwards until his legs met the arm of the sofa and they both toppled over, still entangled. L’s tongue plundered Light’s mouth and his hands ran all over his body. Light moaned into the kiss, his own hands clutching at the soft white material of L’s shirt.
He could feel something digging into his leg.
Ah. So that’s why.
Ryuzaki - L, does my aggression excite you? Do I make you hot? Something deep and dark within him chuckled. Looks like you’re not as untouchable as you think you are.
Their lips still locked, Light began to slide his hand inside L’s jeans. He wanted the man to be entirely at his mercy, to submit to him and lose all of that tightly held control.
Most of all, Light wanted the detective to know the power he had over him.
As L buried his head in Light’s shoulder, gasping and moaning at his ministrations, Light smirked and whispered, “If I’d realised I could win arguments with this before, I’d have done it months ago.”
L jerked up, swiftly removing Light’s hand and springing off the sofa in one movement. He turned to run off, only stopping when he remembered the chain. For the first time since those cuffs had been snapped on, L actually seemed annoyed that he couldn’t leave without dragging Light with him.
“The hell?! Christ, Ryuzaki, make your mind up.” Light sat up, noticing with some annoyance that L’s thumb had still been bleeding and his shirt was now spotted with crimson. “You’re acting particularly schizophrenic lately.”
L just stood there, his back to Light, clenching and unclenching his fists.
Light got up and slowly approached the detective, wary of how he would react. “Just relax.” He put his arms around L’s waist. “I’ll make you forget about all those facts and percentages.”
L twisted deftly out of Light’s grasp by deliberately buckling his legs, spinning to punch the younger man in the stomach, hard. Light doubled over, coughing, and L once again maximised the distance between them and turned away.
Light could hear him muttering to himself.
“Nothing, this is nothing, just a reaction, base instincts temporarily taking over, I’m fine, this is nothing, it doesn’t mean anything, I’m still detached, I haven’t compromised anything…”
L was freaking out, not because he was engaging in homosexual activities, but because it was Light who was making him feel like this.
Because it was Kira making him feel like this.
And whilst Light might be assured of his innocence, L was not, and a little something like a physical relationship with the prime suspect was certainly enough to rattle the detective.
Not one to give up so easily, Light silently walked up to L, cautious, like a lion stalking a spooked gazelle. He had picked up on the fact that L only seemed to react when Light made a remark on the situation. Perhaps, if he said nothing, L would allow himself to be carried away by this.
Light slid his arms around L once more and began to gently kiss the detective’s pale neck. L didn’t fight back this time, leaning his head to the side. When Light looked up, L’s eyes had fluttered shut and his face was calmer.
He was still muttering, but quieter now.
“Just a… just a reaction, nothing… mmm… doesn’t mean anything…”
Very well, L, I will let you cling to your foolish rationalisations for now.
But you are mine.
-x-
Chapter 3 here: http://lillyankh.livejournal.com/1128.html#cutid1
2. A Victory
Light sat at the computer, rubbing his raw wrist. L wasn’t looking at him, hadn’t done so the entire morning, hadn’t even said a word to him until the rest of the Investigation Team arrived, and even then it was only when addressing them as a whole.
Every time Light glanced over at the detective, L would be eating cheesecake, or reading case notes, all the while completely ignoring Light’s presence. It was infuriating. Determined to get a reaction, Light reached out, intending to snatch the papers from between L’s fingers.
L flinched. Actually flinched.
That did it.
“Oh, for the love of God, will you just quit it, Ryuzaki? You’re acting like a child.”
L finally turned his head to stare at Light with those black-hole eyes. “I’m sorry, Light,” he said, the tiniest hint of bitterness in his voice. “I’m just a bit jumpy today. You see, I was attacked last night.”
Light narrowed his eyes. “I think you’ll find that you were the one who assaulted me, Ryuzaki,” he spat, brandishing his wrist.
“Is everything alright?” Matsuda asked, looking concerned.
“Yes, Matsuda, it’s fine.” L replied blandly, before going back to stirring his tea.
Back to ignoring Light.
“Ryuzaki, you are possibly the single most annoying human being I have ever met! Look at me. LOOK AT ME!”
Razing a curious eyebrow but still staring at the swirling sugarpaste in his cup, L smiled slightly. “A tad overdramatic, hmm, Light? Do you crave my attention? Perhaps you are indeed Kira. After all, Kira thrives on attention. He is like a stubborn child, throwing a tantrum until his mother gives him a biscuit. Although most children probably wouldn’t commit mass murder for a cookie…”
Enraged, Light ground his teeth together and clenched his fist so hard he left half-moon marks across his palms. He would not rise to L’s bait, not this time. Taking a few shuddering breaths, he managed to dispel the red haze that had swallowed his vision.
“I wish you wouldn’t accuse me of being Kira, Ryuzaki. I can assure you that I am not.”
“Words, Light, only words.”
“Really? And what are your claims of my guilt, if not words?”
“Truth.”
“How can you be so arrogant? Just because you happen to think something doesn’t make it truth.”
“Can the same not be said of you? You thought you might be Kira, and then you thought that you were not. Which one of those should I believe?”
Light let out a frustrated groan. “You should believe me when I say that I’m not Kira, because, guess what? I’M NOT KIRA!”
L paused, the teaspoon lightly tapping at his lips as he stared up at the ceiling. “You know, I have a hypothesis about that. Certainly, you are not acting as Kira right now - we know that a member of Yotsuba currently has that power. Perhaps, with the transfer of the ability to kill, memories are lost as well.”
Light could see the threads of a winning argument weaving around him. He quickly snatched at one before it faded away. “By that reasoning, anyone could have been Kira. Even - no, especially you, L.”
That got L to look at him. “Explain.”
“Well, think about it. You said yourself that you are a stubborn and childish individual, qualities you just attributed to Kira. You most certainly fit the intelligence profile, and your ideas of justice are skewed enough to engineer a way to frame me for it.”
L frowned. “How do you suppose that?”
“You were perfectly happy to let Lind L Taylor die. A convicted criminal, dying at the hands of Kira, in a special broadcast designed to find his location? You could have already picked me out because of my IQ and my father’s position in the Police Force. Kidnapping and false imprisonment don’t appear to be beneath you, either. Maybe you passed on your power to someone in Yotsuba when it seemed you couldn’t get me incarcerated for good.”
For a moment, L seemed unable to come up with a reply. Light sensed victory. “I only did what was necessary, Light. It’s not false imprisonment if my accusations turned out to be true. And Lind L Taylor was going to die anyway.”
“Everyone is going to die anyway, Ryuzaki. It doesn’t make murder any better.”
L fell silent, mouth open slightly as though expecting his brain to supply a comeback but being sorely disappointed.
A satisfied grin spread across Light’s face; he had won.
Their banters were like sparring matches, each circling the other, testing, landing glancing hits before darting away. This time, Light had dealt the killing blow.
L still said nothing, resorting to staring Light down with such intensity that Light had to feign interest in a document on the desk beside him to escape the detective’s gaze.
I beat you at your own game, L. Accept it.
-x-
By the end of the day, Light’s nerves were frazzled, his teeth on edge and the hair at the nape of his neck standing on end.
Having spent such a considerable effort getting L to pay attention to him, he had not considered quite how disconcerting it would be if the detective then did nothing but stare at him.
For the whole day.
The man hadn’t even paused to eat - whenever Watari or another member of the team brought him cake or another cup of heart-attack-sweet tea, he would pick it up slowly, without looking, never removing his eyes from Light.
It wouldn’t be so bad, Light reasoned, if he knew what L was trying to achieve with this.
As soon as the last member of the team had closed the door on his way out, Light turned on the detective.
“What the hell is your problem, Ryuzaki?”
The only response L gave was to begin chewing his thumbnail in that maddening way he often did. Light angrily stomped the short distance to L’s chair, slamming his hands down on the armrests and leaning right into the detective’s face.
“See how you like it,” he growled.
L’s eyes widened and he leaned back a little. Light leaned in further after him. He wasn’t going to lose this one.
It wasn’t until he saw deep red pooling at the corners of L’s mouth that he realised just how hard the detective was biting down on his thumb.
“Wh… Stop it, you’re hurting yourself!” His anger temporarily forgotten, Light snatched L’s hand away from his mouth. The bite marks were deep and bleeding quite badly. Light grabbed a napkin from the tray on the table and blotted the wound, the white paper quickly blooming red. Annoyed once more, Light snapped his head up to glare at L.
“What did you go and do something like that for?”
Light was still holding L’s injured hand, and those delicate fingers began to curl and dig into the younger man’s wrist. Light suddenly realised that the detective had gone even paler and his breathing was erratic, like he was afraid.
“Hey, why - mrmph!”
This time, it was definitely L who made the first move. He launched himself at Light, grabbing his shirt collar and pulling him into a desperate, crushing kiss.
Taken aback by the force of it, Light staggered backwards until his legs met the arm of the sofa and they both toppled over, still entangled. L’s tongue plundered Light’s mouth and his hands ran all over his body. Light moaned into the kiss, his own hands clutching at the soft white material of L’s shirt.
He could feel something digging into his leg.
Ah. So that’s why.
Ryuzaki - L, does my aggression excite you? Do I make you hot? Something deep and dark within him chuckled. Looks like you’re not as untouchable as you think you are.
Their lips still locked, Light began to slide his hand inside L’s jeans. He wanted the man to be entirely at his mercy, to submit to him and lose all of that tightly held control.
Most of all, Light wanted the detective to know the power he had over him.
As L buried his head in Light’s shoulder, gasping and moaning at his ministrations, Light smirked and whispered, “If I’d realised I could win arguments with this before, I’d have done it months ago.”
L jerked up, swiftly removing Light’s hand and springing off the sofa in one movement. He turned to run off, only stopping when he remembered the chain. For the first time since those cuffs had been snapped on, L actually seemed annoyed that he couldn’t leave without dragging Light with him.
“The hell?! Christ, Ryuzaki, make your mind up.” Light sat up, noticing with some annoyance that L’s thumb had still been bleeding and his shirt was now spotted with crimson. “You’re acting particularly schizophrenic lately.”
L just stood there, his back to Light, clenching and unclenching his fists.
Light got up and slowly approached the detective, wary of how he would react. “Just relax.” He put his arms around L’s waist. “I’ll make you forget about all those facts and percentages.”
L twisted deftly out of Light’s grasp by deliberately buckling his legs, spinning to punch the younger man in the stomach, hard. Light doubled over, coughing, and L once again maximised the distance between them and turned away.
Light could hear him muttering to himself.
“Nothing, this is nothing, just a reaction, base instincts temporarily taking over, I’m fine, this is nothing, it doesn’t mean anything, I’m still detached, I haven’t compromised anything…”
L was freaking out, not because he was engaging in homosexual activities, but because it was Light who was making him feel like this.
Because it was Kira making him feel like this.
And whilst Light might be assured of his innocence, L was not, and a little something like a physical relationship with the prime suspect was certainly enough to rattle the detective.
Not one to give up so easily, Light silently walked up to L, cautious, like a lion stalking a spooked gazelle. He had picked up on the fact that L only seemed to react when Light made a remark on the situation. Perhaps, if he said nothing, L would allow himself to be carried away by this.
Light slid his arms around L once more and began to gently kiss the detective’s pale neck. L didn’t fight back this time, leaning his head to the side. When Light looked up, L’s eyes had fluttered shut and his face was calmer.
He was still muttering, but quieter now.
“Just a… just a reaction, nothing… mmm… doesn’t mean anything…”
Very well, L, I will let you cling to your foolish rationalisations for now.
But you are mine.
-x-
Chapter 3 here: http://lillyankh.livejournal.com/1128.html#cutid1